Awkward Silence
by Masigla
Summary: After an unexpected meeting with her mom's friend's son, Sora, something changes and things aren't how they used to be anymore. [SoraxKairi]
1. The Visit

**Awkward Silence**

_a Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Aemi Takahashi_

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Aemi Says  
"Ya-po everyone! Here is my second fanfic! I put_ Hit So Hard _on a thiatus while I freshen up my mind. I'm just not in the mood for writing the next chapter, so here I am working on a fanfic I am really really really excited about! Hope ya like it!"

Disclaimer  
Kingdom Hearts is property of Squaresoft and Disney. The plot belongs to Aemi Takahashi.

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Chapter One: The Visit

"Yeah Selph, the answer is "hables", not 'hagoles'. I don't think that word exists in Spanish. And you're supposed to put 'no' before the verb. Ay, ay, ay, chica¡tú necesitas escuchar más en clase!" I paced back and forth in the kitchen, the cordless telephone being held in place with my shoulder and my ear, while I was peeling a juicy red apple I just couldn't wait to get into.

"Sorry Kai, I just can't stop daydreaming.. that class is so boring!" Selphie replied.

"I know Selph. You can't stop daydreaming about Riku, is that it?" I teased her.

"N-no!" Selphie retorted. I could sense the nervousness in her voice. "Not Riku!"

"Then what?"

"Something else.." Selphie said.

I giggled and glanced at the kitchen clock. The black cat clock's eyes and ears swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the second hand as I read aloud the time.

"10:25.. Oh darn! I have to get ready!" I said while panicking a bit, putting the apple in a bowl and tossing the peeler into the pile of dishes on the sink.

"Going somewhere, Kai?" Selphie asked.

"My mom and her old high school friend are having a little get together. They'll be here any minute now and I have to get ready! Bye Selph!" Without even waiting for her to say goodbye, I dropped the phone into its cradle and rushed into my closet, picking out my usual outfit when I realized I should get into something a little more formal.

So, I grabbed my lavender Chinese-style dress that went down to right above my knees, and went into my bathroom to change. I wore lavender sandals as well, and tied my short hair into two little buns. I slightly put on eyeliner and eye shadow for the heck of it. Once I was content with the way I looked, I nodded at myself in the mirror and twirled around, just to make sure everything was ok. I walked out of my bathroom and got my purse from my nightstand, and stood behind my door.

"Oh, you're here! It's been so long, Becca!" I heard my mom say. There were a few chit chats here and there, and finally I heard footsteps that could only mean that they were in the living room. I felt confident about myself. I took a deep breath and opened my door, walked down the hallway and down the stairs, and stopped at the living room. I had my introduction all planned out. I would say, "Hello! Nice to meet you, my name is Kairi!".

And I was just about to, when I saw a boy sitting beside my mom's friend. He had the most beautiful, deepest blue eyes you had ever seen. His hair was _the_ perfect shade of brown, and somehow I was attracted to the spikiness of his hair.

"Ummm..." I blurted out. So much for my grand introduction.

"This is my daughter, Kairi." My mom introduced me. Why do I have the urging feeling that I didn't want this mysterious boy who I was?

"Wow, she's so pretty..." My mom's friend said in awe. I blushed in embarrassment. Perhaps from the compliment. But I was thinking more of "I didn't know my mom's friend had a son." I decided to sit down away from him, but _no_, there had to be no empty spot except for the one beside him. I sighed and gathered up my courage to sit beside him, but what really happened was we sat opposite sides of the couch, me on the far right side and him on the far left. We avoided each other's glances as our parents caught up on 10 years of not talking to each other. We didn't talk at all; and I couldn't figure out if it was just, silence, or.. awkward silence.

What's the difference, you ask? Silence is just when you're quiet. That's it. Awkward silence means one or all of the people involved is in an uncomfortable situation. It can also mean that you like the person.

It was awkward silence for me. I don't think it was for him.

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_To be continued..._

Credits  
Special thanks to Ari Powwel for correcting my Spanish early on! Thankies!


	2. Miss Just Right

**Awkward Silence**

_a Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Aemi the Nostalgic Dreamer  
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Aemi Says  
"Here's the second chapter to my fanfic. I hope you guys like it! Oh, and if I suddenly stop updating, all you have to do is nag me! I probably won't stop updating this for a long period of time, since I'm so excited that I want to write a chapter everyday, sadly that's not possible."

Review Replies  
- to Kaoru Hiirigizawa: Thanks for reviewing, Karu-tan! I really appreciate the support you give me for every single one of my fanfics! I glompeth you!  
- to Ari Powwel: Thanks for correcting my Spanish! I'm not that fluent yet. I've only been studying it for less than a year. I'll edit my mistake as soon as I can. Thank you so much!  
- to Blowing Kisses: Yay! You reviewed my fic! That makes me so happy! Hehe. I really appreciate the compliments! It's sad that the SoKairi community is going to shambles, but there's still hope! Thanks so much for reviewing, I appreaciate it to the max!  
- to belovedRiku: Thanks for the nagging! Here's chapter two now! I think I'll so read your fanfic now! Heh heh! And thanks for the compliment about the title, it took me a lot of banging my head on the desk (or keyboard) to figure out the perfect title!

Disclaimer  
Kingdom Hearts is property of Squaresoft and Disney. The plot belongs to Aemi the Nostalgic Dreamer.

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Chapter TwoSo there we were. Silent. Awkward or not, it was very uncomfortable. Our parents chit chatted for a few more minutes, and I just looked out the nearby window. 

"So," Mom said while she stood up and slung her purse on her shoulder. "Let's get going to that restaurant you were talking about!" I sank more into the couch. I was not in the mood to go out anymore.

"We can take you on our car!" Becca said, doing almost exactly the same thing my mom did. Stand, sling purse over shoulder. It kinda made me flip out, but then all moms do that. I guess.

So my mom agreed, and we went into their van. His dad was driving, my dad was in the passenger seat, our moms were in the next two seats, and guess what? I had to sit with him again, way at the back. Of course, we weren't really sitting beside each other. We were sitting on opposite edges of the seat, like we were on the couch. Strangely enough, we both had our arms folded and were looking out the window.

It was a painfully long trip. Neither one of us talked the whole time, just our mothers, and occassional lame jokes from one of our dads. I shifted my position slightly because I had stayed in my previous one for too long. But before I could enjoy my new position, we arrived at the restaurant. It was some sort of high-class cafe place.

"Okay, we're here! Oh, the chicken here is absolutely heavenly!" Becca said, waving her hand as a signal for us to get out of the car. I got off of the car and fixed up my dress. I watched as he, Sora (Becca was talking about how he's studying in the same school I go to. It's strange how I never noticed him before.), got off the car by jumping, tripping, falling, and getting up. It was actually funny, and I couldn't help but giggle a bit. He scratched his head as he shrugged it off like it happened everyday. I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

So, we entered the restaurant. Just as I suspected, it was a classy cafe, much like Cheescake factory, in fact. We found a place to sit. Who would've thought that Sora decided to sit in the seat directly in front of mine. Is he trying to make me nervous throughout the whole thing! I mean, he shouldn't have sat in front of me.

An unsuspecting, young, waitress greeted us and handed us our menus. She was ugly beyond belief.

Sorry, I lied.

She was unbelievably beautiful. She had long, jet black, flowing hair that ended at her shoulder blades. They were so perfectly straight, and it didn't seem too dull, or too shiny. Just right. Her skin was neither pale nor dark, they were just right. And her eyes--you guessed it. Just right.

It was then on that I deemed this girl, Ms. Just Right. The epitome of beauty, I wouldn't be surprised if Sora there had fallen for her.

"You're awfully young to be a waitress.." Becca placed her right hand on her chin as she examined Ms. Just Right, as if she were looking at her for possibilities of a nice future daughter-in-law, perhaps? I bet she was.

"Oh, I just felt like helping my mom out.." The girl smiled. Her pearly whites were.. pearly white. She's pretty and all that, but she can't have looks and a heavenly personality, can she?

"Your mom owns the restaurant? But doesn't she have employees to help her out?" My mom asked.

"Oh, but isn't it nice to help out a lot? Tomorrow, I'm going to visit a local soup kitchen." Ms. Just Right smiled again. Dammit, so she has looks and a heavenly personality. But she can't be smart!

"Wow.. so where do you study?"

"At Destiny High." She nodded. So she goes to the same top-school as Sora as well. Maybe they know each other? "I just moved here."

"How wonderful!" My mom clapped her hands together. "My Kairi just got accepted into that school, so you two can be good friends!" My mom pointed to me as I acted happy and excited. In truth, I was jealous. How can she be so perfect? She has a weak point, I know it. Ms. Just Right held out her hand to me and smiled that smile of hers.

"I'm Dinah." She introduced herself.

"I'm Kairi." I returned the shake and the smile. We nodded to each other and she turned back to all of us.

"I'll give you some time to decide on your orders! Thanks for letting me talk to you!" Dinah bowed down and went off.

"She seemed like a very pleasant girl!" Becca exclaimed.

"She's you're type, huh, Sora?" Sora's dad playfully punched him in the shoulder. Sora just blushed and rubbed his shoulder a bit. I looked away. Of course she was his type. She's every girl's type, I take it. She's perfect and all. I bet you that guys will flock to her like birds to a piece of bread or something.

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_To be continued..._


	3. Flaw Number One

**Awkward Silence**

_a Kingdom Hearts fanfic by Aemi the Dreamer  
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Aemi Says  
"Yay! I really hope that this chapter is 'long'. Sometimes I get too excited about updating that I make chapters short. Sowee!"

Review Replies  
- to Kaoru Hiirigizawa: I glompeth you again! Thanks for reviewing! Well, you will know her flaws. In due time, young grasshopper.  
- to Kryuzei: Wow! Thanks for the comment! I'm trying my hardest to make it longer, I really am!  
- to Casey: I hope that I won't stop updating! Read this chapter and you will know that Dinah isn't really perfect. Everyone's gotta have flaws, right?  
- to Letter Bomb: Yes, yes, I know! Make the chapters longer! Heh heh! I will, I will! Thanks for the brilliant comment!  
- to carbuncle021: You also read my joint fanfic with Kaoru, correct? Thanks for reading my fanfic and reviewing as well!

Disclaimer  
Kingdom Hearts is property of Squaresoft and Disney. The plot belongs to Aemi the Nostalgic Dreamer.

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Chapter ThreeI really don't want to go into detail about what happened at the restaurant. Why? Because we just ate, and that's all that happened, really.. Today is Monday, Dinah's first day in school, and I'm determined to find out her weakness. 

When I arrived at school, there were not a lot of kids who arrived before me. I looked around the hallways for Dinah and maybe even Sora. It's really really strange how I don't see him at school. Maybe he's in the other building?

I opened my locker and unpacked the things in my backpack. I had to organize my locker every other morning, because somehow it manages to mess itself up while I'm not looking. I know no one's been looking through my stuff. It's just those bossy high schoolers like to kick the lockers in their free time.

"So, how was that dinner thing you, Kai?" Selphie asked me, with her books in her arms, leaning on the locker beside mine.

"Oh, it was just fine." I replied. Selphie looked me straight in the eye.

"Did you meet a cute guy?"

I almost choked on my own spit. Selphie had this bizarre way of telling _exactly_ what was on my mind.

"What?" Selphie's mouth curved up into a smile. "Did I hit bull's eye _again_? Tell me, Kai!" She said excitedly as I rolled my eyes and let an aggravated sigh escape my lips. I got my drama notebook and my pencil case.

"I'll tell you in the bathroom." I whispered, closing my locker. I put the lock on, locked it, spinned the dial and tugged, just as we should do. I then pulled Selph into the nearest bathroom.

"Okay, so here's the deal." I whispered, looking around to make sure no one was watching. "There was a cute guy."

"I knew it!" Selphie whispered. It was more of a quiet shout, actually. I put my finger on my lips as a sign for her to keep quiet. That girl has serious keeping quiet issues.

"What's more, he studies in this school!" I continued. Selphie gasped and covered her mouth.

"No way!" She reacted. I nodded my head yes.

"Do you know his name?"

"Sora Jacobs." I replied.

"No.." Selphie said disbelievingly.

"What?"

"He's one of the star players for the school's basketball team! How can you_ not_ know who Sora Jacobs is!" She told me off almost in a scolding manner.

"Sorry," I scratched my head, "I'm not really into sports." I wasn't. I could care less about sports. If someone says, "Superbowl tonight!", I turn my TV to a soap opera. I_ really_ don't care.

Selphie sighed. "I should've known, Kai. You went off and met some popular hot guy and I didn't know.."

"Not my fault!" I testified.

"I know, I know." Selphie closed her eyes when a girl opened the door to the bathroom.

"Oh, you're Kairi! From yesterday, right?" The girl said. I looked and it was Dinah. Guess now I'm stuck with her.

"Yep, you got the right person! Selphie, meet Dinah. She just moved in here. Her mom owns that restaurant down in Ocean View Avenue... I forgot the name.." I introduced them.

"Pacifico Cafe." Dinah corrected me.

"Oh, right." I laughed nervously and looked away. Selphie's eyes widened.

"Get out.. you mean _the_ Pacifico Cafe?" Selphie shook Dinah's hand.

"Yes." Dinah nodded her head and smiled that perfect smile of hers. When they stopped shaking hands, Dinah went into the cubicle and did her thing. Selphie and I looked at each other. She came out, washed her hands, got a paper towel and wiped her hands. When she threw it in the trash can, she missed, so she picked it up and put it into the trash can for real, but when she stood up her head hit the paper towel dispenser.

"Ouch! Hehe.. I'm okay.." She said, rubbing her head. She then got her hand bag, but dropped it. So she bent over and got it, but gravity caused the paper in her binder to fall out. Selphie and I helped her.

That's when I realized her weakness.

She was extremely clumsy.

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_To be continued..._


	4. Advisory Mixup

Kingdom Hearts x **Awkward Silence**

_.D r e a M i n g W i s t F u l l y._

**A/N: **W00t! Yay for the return of fast internet in my house! We've been on dial-up for awhile since our DSL provider made us wait two weeks to get DSL, then told us DSL isn't available in our area. Gah. So we got Cable internet from another company instead. Yay Comcast! Heh heh. Product placement? Nah.

Uhm, and another thing. Some teachers may be Final Fantasy characters, but some may be based off of my real teachers from 7th grade.. I changed their names a bit so bleh. I am not good with names.

**Disclaimer:**

This is a fanfic, of course, so it means I don't own any of the characters, except maybe Dinah.

**Replies:  
**-to kaoru hiirigizawa: Too bad I didn't inspire you enough that you actually updated your fic. Gah!  
-to Kryuzei: Yeah, I do, this chapter would've come sooner if it weren't for that stupid internet fiasco. So anyways, here's the fourth chapter!  
-to Letter Bomb: Yay kudos! Yeah, it was kinda predictable that Dinah's weakness was clumsiness, but there's another one revealed in this chapter!  
-to belovedRiku: I have heard of that song Ocean Avenue, but the name for the street didn't really come from the song. Well it sorta did because if I hadn't known the song then I probably would've come up with another name. But no, I don't really listen to yellowcard. And here is your update, come back from the insane asylum (or whatever you call it) already! Heh heh.  
-to thes razr blade kisses: And now you shall know more! Bwahahah! Enjoy!  
-to angel-yuripa: Sorry I didn't really udpate that soon... the stupid internet thing! Gah! Oh well now that was done I can update more! Whee!  
-to Casey: Of course! No one is perfect! Everyone's gotta have a weakness! She is a klutz, and I'm glad to know you aren't as clumsy as her!  
-to carbuncle x3: Yeah I know, all my chapters are short! This one is a tad bit longer than the others though, so it should keep ya busy! Yay!  
-to abeautifuloblivion: You forgot 'with sugar on top?', but I'll accept that! Heh heh! Here is your long awaited update!  
-to Princess Kairi: Yes, it is rather cute! XD And I updated Deep Blue also! Have fun reading!

(Remember your three R's everyone, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle--I mean, Read, Review, Recommend!)

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"So, what class do you have now, Dinah?" I asked Dinah as I gave her the last piece of paper that fell out of her binder.

"Oh, umm," she stuttered, fiddling with some papers, she found her schedule, "English, with Mrs. Strife.."

"Oh, sweet. We're in the same P.E. class." Selphie said while looking over Dinah's shoulder to look at her schedule. "She's really cool english teacher. And she's married to Mr. Strife, the P.E. teacher. Hey, come to think of it, you're in all the same classes as me. And you're in the same Advisory as Kairi and I!"

"Oh, really?" Dinah took a look at her schedule. "Cool!"

"It's sad because," Selphie looked at me, "We only have Advisory, Science, Spanish and P.E. with Kairi. But we don't have English, Math, and Drama with her."

I smiled at Selphie. "It's okay. Say, Selph.." I leaned into her ear and whispered, "Is Sora Jacobs in any of your classes that I'm not in?"

"Nah, come to think of it, I don't see him around much. Only after school during sports." Selphie whispered back. She took tennis. Like I said, I am not into sports. "I think it's because when we have classes in this building, we have classes in the other one, and vice versa."

That sounded like a decent explanation. I turned to Dinah and smiled. "Sorry about that. Say, Dinah, are you trying out for any sports?" I asked her.

"Uhh," She brushed her hair behind her ear. "no... I'm not really good at sports.."

So, she wasn't athletic either. I guess it comes with being clumsy?

"Oh, you're like Kairi!" Selphie joked, "I take tennis."

"Cool." Dinah commented. She glanced up at the clock in the bathroom above the mirrors. "I think we should get going to our first period classes." She opened the door for us. I was about to walk right out when Selphie pulled me back.

"Selph--"

"Kairi, you might wanna un-roll your sleeves before going out there."

"Oh, right." Selphie let go of my hand, and I put my drama things on top of the sink. I unrolled them and turned to Dinah to explain. She needed it, she looked confused.

"Our principal, Mrs. Cartwill, gives people detention for rolling their sleeves up. It's weird." I explained. Dinah nodded in agreement and waited for Selphie and I to go out of the bathroom before doing so herself.

"Well, see you guys at Advisory." I said, waving goodbye for now. Unlike some schools, we had homeroom after having two periods of regular classes. I had Drama, Math, then homeroom. Selphie and Dinah waved back before turning right into another hallway. I looked ahead to the staircase that led down to the mini-theater where Drama classes were held.

"Hey, Kairi! How was your weekend?" someone tapped my shoulder. I looked back, it was Yuffie, another classmate.

"It was good, Yuffie. How about yours? Did you go on a date with Leon again?" I greeted.

"No, not this weekend, we were pretty busy with our lab-write ups." We were supposed to do lab-write ups for Science class, describing our experience with dissecting frogs. We weren't even finished dissecting, so we why is she doing it now?

"But it isn't due until next week, is it?" I was puzzled. Yuffie wasn't the kind to do things in advance.

"It isn't !" Yuffie exclaimed, going down the steps with me. "We thought it was due tomorrow."

"Yuffie, we haven't even finished dissecting the frogs, remember?" I reminded her.

"Really? You mean we're supposed to see it's insides? I thought we were just supposed to see the muscle layer."

"No, Yuffie." I laughed softly. We arrived at the small theater, named the Bennett theater, after the woman who first taught Drama in our school, and still continues to. She was in her middle 30's, and has been teaching for the past 15 years of her life. A couple of our other classmates were there ahead of us, but most arrived a little after us. Mrs. Bennett came into the theater, clapping her hands as she sat on the edge of the stage.

"Okay everyone, please get into a semi-circle." She instructed, and everyone formed a semi-circle on the floor in front of the stage.

And so drama class flew by. All we did was act out a few scenes. I'm not saying it was boring, and I'm not saying it was the most fun I've had in years, it was just... Drama class. I went to my locker, passing by Selphie's and telling her what we do in Drama since she had it next, and then dropping by Dinah's to ask her how her first period was.

"It was good. Mrs. Strife is really nice." she said, stuffing her English books into her locker and taking our her Drama things.

"I know, isn't she? Well, I better run off to my locker if I want to make it to Math in time. Woop-de-doo." I said sarcastically. Math was the class everyone hated. Probably because Mrs. O'Donald treated everyone like 3rd graders when we were 8th graders and didn't really teach us anything new. Needless to say, it was the perfect time to fall asleep. I ever so slowly walked to my locker, spinned the lock, got the wrong combination, tried opening it again, got the combo right, opened it, put in my Drama things, got my Math binder, looked for my calculator, found it, closed my locker, spinned the dial and tugged on the lock. I yawned, a few tears coming out of my eyes. I wiped them away and yawned again. I haven't even set foot in the Math classroom and I'm already sleepy.

Nothing much, or rather, nothing NEW happened in math. We were reminded of how to _add our fractions_! Squee.

No.

Just, no. I hate it when Mrs. O'Donald does that. I swear, if any of us had stayed in that room for longer than forty minutes and one second, we would've gone mental, or fallen asleep, or gone mental in our sleep. We all rushed out of the Math room and 8th graders flooded the 8th grade hallways once more as everyone waited for each other. Selphie and Dinah were already waiting by my locker by the time I got there. I walked slowly, ready to fall down and sleep on the floor for all I care. I leaned my head against my locker as I spinned the dial according to my combination. My head went back to its position, not leaning on my locker, as I opened it, shoved my Math things and got my snack. Yum, an orange. Selphie had a pack of those chocolate-covered breadstick things, and I was guessing she was hungry since one of the things was in her mouth already. Dinah held a clear zip-lock bag of cheese puffs. How does she keep her body like that even if she eats junk like that? Well, it's not like she eats it all the time.

"Omga Kai," Selphie said, biting onto a breadstick, "today's Advisory mixup day, right?"

"Right.." I muttered.

"What's Advisory mixup day?" Dinah asked. Selphie chewed and swallowed.

"It's when someone from one advisory gets switched with someone from another advisory. It only happens once a year. I hope none of us get switched around."

"I hope so too. I want Candice out of our advisory, she's too.. I don't know.. too sexual? I mean, she always talks about that kinda stuff." I said, not meaning to sound mean, but I sort of did. Selphie nodded.

"Same here. I mean, does she really have to talk about that kinda stuff? I think our advisor doesn't like her all that much either." Our advisor, by the way, was Mrs. Strife. Lucky, right?

We went up a flight of stairs to the sixth grade hallway near Mrs. Strife's room. We went in, and saw Candice, Yuffie, Tidus, and Mrs. Strife of course. Selphie came in with a grand greeting.

"¡Hola!" She exclaimed.

"¡Hola, Selphie!" Mrs. Strife greeted back. Even if Mrs. Strife was the English teacher, she knew a little bit of Spanish on the side as well. Selphie, Dinah and I took spots near Mrs. Strife's desk and sat on the tables.

"Okay chicos y chicas," said Mrs. Strife,"hoy es Advisory mixup day. I'm just gonna say this in English." she said. Sometimes _Señora_ Strife just wants to speak Spanish, but then decides to switch back to English. "Today's Advisory mixup day, and I'm going to tell you now who's getting switched."

"Oooh, do we get to know who's getting switched into our advisory?" Yuffie asked excitedly.

"I won't tell you, but you'll find out when the person comes into the room." Mrs. Strife opened a drawer to look for the sheet of paper with the information on who was getting switched with who. "Okay, let's see... Candice, you're switching with one of Mr. Strife's advisees."

I was trying my hardest not to jump up and shout "YAY!" out. From the looks of Selphie's face, I knew she was trying just as hard. Dinah simply looked relieved she didn't have to hear anything Candice had to say. Tidus, well, he wasn't paying attention. Selphie though, during the other times of advisory, was paying attention to him. Yuffie was excited about another thing.

"Oooh, Mr. Strife's advisory? Aren't all his advisees from the basketball team or something?"

"Correct. For some odd reason, during the beginning of the year Mr. Strife chose all the kids who were in the basketball team last year." Mrs. Strife said. I felt my heart skip a beat. That means, there was a possibility that Sora would be the one switched into our advisory. But it was a slim chance. I mean, there are lots of kids in the basketball team.

"Mrs. Strife," I began, "How many people are there in Mr. Strife's advisory?"

"Hmm..." Mrs. Strife scanned the paper with her eyes, "there are five, Kairi, why?"

I bit my lower lip and laughed softly, "Five? Aren't there more kids in the basketball team?"

"Well, most kids in the basketball team this year are seventh graders, Kairi. Only five from the eight grade have joined." Mrs. Strife explained.

"Oh.. I was just curious, that's all..." I laughed nervously, biting my lip again. A terrible habit, I know. I felt someone nudge me with their elbow. It was Selphie. She winked at me, knowing why I was so nervous.


	5. Pienso que

Kingdom Hearts x **Awkward Silence**

_.D r e a M i n g W i s t F u l l y._

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**A/N: **Ah ha ha. I swear, you guys (the readers) are so persistent! X3 Thanks for nagging me though, or else I would've probably procrastinated and didn't update until like, someone flamed me.

Also, there's a lot of Spanish in this chapter, so I put little translations in the end!

This chapter is long..

..because you people complain ;

And by the way, I have a new fanfic entitled "Charcoal Sketches". X3 Hope you guys read it.

**Disclaimer:**

I received a call from Squeenix yesterday,  
"Congratulations! Kingdom Hearts is yours now, horay!"  
I did a happy dance,  
I didn't even have to pay,  
Kingdom Hearts is mine now, horay!  
But on my bed I lay,  
staring up the ceiling so gray,  
what do I have to say?  
Kingdom Hearts is not mine, okay?  
But I would like to own it someday.

**Replies:  
**- to kaoru hiirigizawa: You don't call a teacher Mr. (first name here), kaoru. --;  
- to Shirozora: Yes, high school-themed fics are the love. X3  
- to Princess Kairi: Well, I use a mac now, and in TextEdit you can go to the Insert menu and click "Special Characters". For Windows, I think you go to Start>Programs>Accessories>Sytem Tools>Character Map if I'm correct.  
- to carbuncle x3: Yes, it is Yan Yan! XD I LOVE Yan Yan!  
- to thes razr blade kisses: Yes, I am evil aren't I. >D I hope I didn't torture you too much this time.  
- to JackFan7: OMGA! I heard that song before! It was so funny! XD  
- to Casey: Yay for Comcast! It's very fast! Amazing! 8D  
- to no name: Thanks for the compliment! By the way, I like your name! It's like.. no name. 8D

(Remember your three R's everyone, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle--I mean, Read, Review, Recommend!)

* * *

"See ya." Candice waved goodbye as she once and for all, left our advisory. As soon as she left, everyone sighed a sigh of relief, even Mrs. Strife. Well actually, Tidus didn't budge at all, as he obviously didn't care. I would think he was excited, with him being the only guy in our advisory, and all of Mr. Strife's advisees being guys, I guess it was a relief for him to finally not be alone. 

"So, Dinah," Mrs. Strife called Dinah's attention, "would you mind standing out for a second to check for anyone who might be waiting outside to join our advisory?"

"But Mrs. Strife, I don't know who's supposed to join us." Dinah said. Mrs. Strife nodded.

"Well, just go see if someone's outside, please." Mrs. Strife requested. Dinah smiled and nodded, then got off the table and went outside, closing the door slowly.

"Ohmygosh, Kai. What if Sora Jacobs comes?" Selphie whispered.

"Fat chance, Selph." I whispered back.

"Kai, you heard it yourself. There are only 5 people in Mr. Strife's advisory, and they're all in the basketball team!" Selphie debated. I shrugged.

So we all waited in silence. After a short while, Dinah peeked into the room.

"Umm, Mrs. Strife," she called out softly. "I think our new advisee is here.."

"Okay, let him in, Dinah." Mrs. Strife instructed. Dinah opened the door all the way, going in, then telling whoever was outside to come in.

Selphie raised both her eyebrows in surprise, her sheepish grin turning into a sheepish smile. I screamed in my mind, feeling like I was going crazy.

Who would've thought Sora would be switched into our advisory?

"Umm," he said, his hand behind his head. "I know Jake was supposed to be the one switched, but he threw a temper tantrum so I volunteered to switch for him.."

" Yo, Sora! 'sup man!" Tidus greeted, then high-fived with Sora. I turned to Selphie, and she looked like she was melting. She leaned into my ear to whisper some more.

"One hot guy in our advisory is enough, but two is like, making me melt!" she whispered excitedly. I laughed nervously.

"So," Mrs. Strife called everyone's attention, "is anyone in dire need of introduction to our new advisee?"

Everyone shook their heads no.

"Well, great! We're off to a nice start, then. Kairi," she called out to me.

"Yeah?" I responded, leaning out a bit so I could see her better. Sora turned his head and looked at where I was, like he didn't notice I was there until someone had to call my name out.

"Would you please make 7 copies of this worksheet? I seemed to have miscounted and don't have enough for all my students." she asked me.

"Sure!" I stood up from the table and walked to Mrs. Strife's desk, where she handed me the worksheet. I listened to her further instructions, then left. I walked slowly through the halls to the library, making sure I got back right before Advisory ended so I wouldn't feel embarrassed. But that wouldn't work, because Mrs. Strife's room was right next to the library.

I walked into the library, looking around for the librarian. She wasn't the nicest person on earth. Mrs. Ohlsen always scolded you for doing the slightest thing wrong, so everyone was always so quiet and careful when in the library. I found her at the table, examining the just-returned books for their due date.

"Umm, Mrs. Ohlsen? Mrs. Strife wants 7 copies of this worksheet." I said politely.

"Sure thing, Kairi." She said. When you were polite enough and showed respect, she was nice. Otherwise, well, you don't wanna know.

"Please, take your time, Mrs. Ohlsen." I added. I hope she does take her time. Maybe she could read over every single copy to make sure that the printing didn't get messed up. Unfortunately, the possibilities of the printer messing up were very slim. The printer was fairly new.

"Here you go, Kairi." she handed me the 8 copies, including the original one. "Have a good day!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Ohlsen." I bowed down gratefully, then re-counted the copies just to be sure. Exiting the library, walking very, very slowly to the next door. My eyes were fixed on the papers, not paying attention to where I was.

BAM!

The door flew open, right in my face. I fell back, dropping the papers.

"Oh my gosh, Kairi!" I heard Selphie call out from inside. I didn't care, because I was in intense pain. I rubbed my forehead, hoping it would somehow ease the pain.

"Uh-oh, sorry, Kairi!" Sora apologized. I didn't know, but he must've been the one who opened the door. "Mrs. Strife told me to check up on you 'cause you were taking so long, and I didn't know you were there, sorry." He held out his hand to me. I blushed a bit, taking his hand as he pulled me up back on my feet.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Y-yeah.." I replied.

"Sure?" he asked once more.

"Uh-huh." I nodded my head, bending over to pick up the papers.

"Ah, here, let me help you with that." Sora bent over as well, picking up at least more than half the papers swiftly. We both stood up again as he handed me the papers.

"Thanks." I said to him, smiling. I don't know what that was supposed to mean, but he jolted up a bit when I smiled at him, like he wasn't expecting it.

"Uh.. yeah.." He scratched his head. "you can go in first."

"Okay." I walked gracefully (for show) back into the classroom.

"Are you alright, Kairi?" Mrs. Strife inquired.

"Yeah, I am." I responded, handing Mrs. Strife the papers. Sora came into the classroom, closing the door behind him and sitting beside Tidus again. I went back to Selphie and Dinah. Selphie had her sheepish grin across her face, and Dinah was smiling.

"What?" I asked them, as if I were confused.

"What happened out there?" Selphie interrogated. I took a gulp, laughing nervously.

"Nothing. I just ran into the door, and he helped me up. Selphie gasped.

"Ohmygosh you held hands with him!" she said softly. I sighed.

"God, Selphie. It didn't mean anything." I reminded her, but apparently she wasn't listening. I then noticed that Dinah didn't seem to be giddy around any of the guys at school.

"What about you, Dinah? How come it's like you aren't attracted to any of the guys here?" I asked her softly. She blushed, fumbling with her skirt.

"Umm, uhh," she stuttered, "I'm kind of..."

"In a relationship?" Selphie finished for her, eyes twinkling and all. Dinah nodded and looked down.

"Ooooh, who's the lucky guy?" I joined into the interrogation. Selphie giggled, making Tidus and Sora stare a bit.

"Umm, he doesn't.. study at this school.. he goes to my old school." she explained.

"Awww.." Selphie and I went.

"Must be tough for you." I assumed. She nodded her head.

"I don't know what he's doing, or if he's doing something behind my back.." she uttered softly. Selphie gave Dinah a friendly hug.

"Don't worry, Dinah. If something bad happens, just call on me and Kairi." she stated. I nodded in agreement.

"Hey Kairi," someone called out to me. I turned around, and saw it was Tidus. "Sora here wants to know what language you take." he pointed to Sora with his thumb. Sora folded his arms and slouched, looking away.

"I take Spanish." I answered. "What about you guys?"

"We take Latin." Tidus responded. Figures. Most students take Spanish, love-addicts took French, and popular people took Latin. Selphie was a love-addict, but she took Spanish because she wanted to revert the language of love from French to Spanish. She isn't doing a very good job at it, but she doesn't regret it.

"Hey," Tidus called Dinah's attention, "what about you?"

"I take Spanish.. My grandfather is French, so I know how to speak French."

"Cool." Tidus commented. "Can you speak French to us?"

"Sorry, everyone," Mrs. Strife interrupted. "I know you wanted to hear Dinah speak French, but it's time to go to your next period class."

So, everyone left Mrs. Strife's room. Selphie, Dinah and I made our way to the Spanish room.

"I wonder why Sora wanted to know what language you took, Kairi.." Selphie stated in a mischievous voice. "Maybe he's planning to switch?"

"That's not happening, Selphie. It's too late in the year to switch languages." I debated.

"Aww, it would be cool if he switched just to be in the same class as you." she said in the same voice. I sighed.

"Maybe he just wants to know more about you, Kairi." Dinah suggested.

"Yeah, Dinah would know." Selphie teased. "She's been though it." Dinah blushed again.

"Ah, that's not--"

"¡Hola, Señora!" Selphie greeted right after opening the door to the Spanish room. "¿Cómo estás?"

"Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?" Señora answered.

"Ah, estoy bien tambien." Selphie said. Dinah and I found spots near the desk. The way Señora set up her room, her desk was right in front of the board, and the students' tables were set up in a U shape, the bests spots were on the sides, because Señora always calls on the people in the "bottom" part of the U. Soon, all of our classmates were in the room. Selphie took notice and hurried to the seat beside me. Once everyone settled down, Señora clapped her hands together.

"Ah," Señora said, "tengo pregunta para las chicas en este clase."

"Sí¿Señora?" all the girls said in unison.

"¿Tienen novios?" Señora asked. All the girls started talking at once, saying "Sí", or "No." Selphie laughed, agreeing and disagreeing with girls who said they had boyfriends or with girls who said they didn't have boyfriends. Dinah and I stayed silent, not sure how to react. I remembered Sora. "How do you say crush in Spanish?" I thought to myself. Blushing as I remembered last weekend.

"OH!" Sophia Esteed (1) exclaimed. "¡Yo pienso que Kairi tiene novio!"

"EH!" I exclaimed. Damn. She must've noticed I was blushing.

"Oooooh!" everyone in the class, even Señora went.

"¿Quien es tu novio, Kairi?" Señora questioned.

"Uh.. ¡No tengo novio!" I testified, but by the looks on everyone's face, I could tell they weren't convinced.

How will I get out of this?

* * *

**Translations:**

¿Cómo estás? - How are you?

Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? - Very good, thank you. And you?

Ah, estoy bien tambien. - Ah, I'm good, too.

Ah, tengo pregunta para las chicas en este clase. - Ah, I have a question for the girls in this class.

¿Tienen novios? -Do you have boyfriends?

OH¡Yo pienso que Kairi tiene novio! - AH! I think Kairi has a boyfriend!

¿Quien es tu novio, Kairi? - Who is your boyfriend, Kairi?

Uh.. ¡No tengo novio! - Ah.. I don't have a boyfriend!

(1) Sophia Esteed- a character from Square Enix's Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

**Product Placement:**

Ah, yes. Everyone go off in your merry way and read JackFan7's "Nightmare before Thanksgiving" NOW! XD Stop by my friend kaoru hiirigizawa and read her fics, too. 8D Yay product placement!


	6. Un Crush

Kingdom Hearts x **Awkward Silence**

_.d r e a m I n g w i s t f U l l y._

* * *

_**  
**_** A/N:**;-; I am so so so so sorry for not updating! Lots of issues came up! If you want to know more about it I have it in my profile. Yeah, my profile has lots of updated information on my status and stuff so you should check it out often... But you guys must be dying to read the sixth chapter so I won't keep you waiting! ;-; 

**Disclaimer:**  
I received a call from Square Enix yesterday,  
"Congratulations! Kingdom Hearts is yours now, horaay!"  
I did a happy dance,  
I didn't even have to pay,  
Kingdom Hearts is mine now, hoaray!  
But on my bed I lay,  
staring up the ceiling so gray,  
what do I have to say?  
Kingdom Hearts is not mine, okay?  
But I would like to own it someday.

**Replies:  
**-thesrazrbladkisses: I wanted to take French, but since Tagalog is my native tongue I thought it would be easier to take Spanish. XD  
-Princess Kairi: Sorry... I'm sure you'll figure out how to do it on a Windows PC pretty soon.  
-JackFan7: Hmm... haven't heard of Keith Urban... Thanks for the comment!  
-quidditchgirl13: I'm trying to keep it up! Wish me luck on that! Hehe.  
-Shirozora: Ah, well, actually he just wants to know a lil' more 'bout our Kairi. XD  
-belovedRiku: Ehehehe... I like your fic! It's so... Riku-full-ness! Sorry, I'm not a Riku fangirl so it's hard for me to really really like fics about him but yours was interesting!  
-kaoru hiirigizawa: Mwahaha. Thanks for letting me update my fics at your house. ;-; Yes you should know what happens next because.. yeah. XD  
-Casey: Who doesn't like randomness? And what's up with the boyfriend question? It's random! XD  
-kryuzei: It's okay to criticize me. I take it well. 8D;; I don't like reviewers who only say what I want them to say, so thanks!  
-Pinksilky: Sorry for it being confusing... I really try to not make it confusing but somehow it just ends up being confusing..

(Remember your three R's everyone, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle--I mean, Read, Review, Recommend!)

* * *

"Pero Señora, no tengo novio. Tengo un 'crush'.." I said shyly, hoping that would make everyone forget about what just happened.

"¿Crush¿Qué es un 'crush', Kairi?" Señora demanded an explanation. But it surprised me--didn't everyone know what crushes were? I mean I thought it was also Señora who had a crush on one of the guys from that band that--but anyways, so there I was. I bit my lip, not sure how to explain it. I knew what to say, it's just that I couldn't say it in Spanish.

"Ehh... es cuando te gusta un chico pero no sabes si un chico le gusta te."

"Ah... yo comprendo. Okay chicos y chicas¡necesitamos trabajar!"

I sighed, relieved the whole fiasco ended. But still, I wasn't convinced by the glances given to me that my classmates were satisfied.

"I think they want to know more." Dinah whispered to me.

"They definitely do." Selphie agreed. And so, Spanish class went on. I tried my best to work hard and not think about what just happened, but I blamed myself for blushing even if it was unintentional, and I often found myself lightly banging my head onto the desk.

But finally, the class ended, and I had English next while Selphie and Dinah had Math.

Even if I wasn't even half done with my school day, I was feeling more tired than tired. I hated being under pressure, especially when it's something about love. My mind still lingered on a question that was long answered by Selphie, though.

Why didn't I ever see Sora until that day? Even if we did have classes in the opposite buildings, we still should at least catch a glimpse of each other, but no, it was like we didn't.

My shoulders hung low, and so did my head, as I opened my locker and got my English things. English was another subject I liked, particularly because of Mrs. Strife, but it was also because I had this, this… thing for writing.

"Hey, Kai! I'll wait for ya," chirped Yuffie, who was leaning against the locker next to mine.

"Thanks." I replied. I closed my locker and turned to her, giving her a signal that I was ready to go. We walked through the small park in between the two buildings together silently.

"Hey, look," Yuffie jerked head sideways, as if to point at something—or someone. "it's our new advisee."

"Huh?" I looked to my side, passing right by Sora and one of his friends—Riku, "the silver knight", as described by the many girls who were crushing on him. So, we passed right by each other like we did it everyday.

But, wait! If we passed by like this everyday, why didn't I ever notice him? This was the only way to get to the other building, aside from the old passageway that not a lot of people used because it was a little scary.

I got flustered a little. I don't know why, but I felt like blaming myself for not noticing him.

"Helloooo?" Yuffie waved her hand right in my face. "Earth to Kairi Valencia!" (**A/N:** Sorry for the name! 8D;;)

"What?" I snapped.

"Geez, what just happened to you? You saw that new advisee and suddenly it was like you were hypnotized or something. It's like you're in love!" she (very quickly) said. That didn't even give me enough time to interrupt before she blurted out anything that gave my secret away. Fortunately, neither Sora nor his 9th grade friend Riku was in sight.

"God, Yuffie. You talk too fast." I said.

"No, no, no, wait!" Yuffie waved her hand, like I was the one who was too fast. "Is he the guy you were talking about in Spanish class? Oh my—"

"Yuffie, please don't tell anyone! Especially not Leon! Even though you talk to him about _everything_. Please make this one exception?" I put on my best pleading face—which, of course, included the ever-so-famous puppy dog pout.

Yuffie thought for a bit before giving me her final verdict. "Alright, alright. I know how hard it is in the start, so I'll let you off on this one. But, lemme tell you that he doesn't have a girlfriend yet! Neither does his friend Riku." Yuffie chuckled.

"Have a seat, Yuffie, Kairi." Mrs. Strife told us when we entered her classroom that had a few of our classmates already. We sat down somewhere in the middle of the classroom beside each other.

"Who else knows?" Yuffie asked me with her chin resting on the palm of her hand.

"Selph, and Dinah." I answered.

"The usual. So, you've been really friendly with the new girl!" Yuffie smiled.

"Yeah, we met her this weekend."

"Wait, '_we_'?"

"Umm," I fumbled with my skirt in nervousness, "me and Sora."

"Really?"

"Our parents were friends in high school, I think, so last weekend they had a little get together and that's when I first met him."

"S-weet!" Yuffie whistled. "I can ask Leon to tell me if he says anything about you!"

"But Yuffie, you just said that you wouldn't tell Leon anything about it!" I cried out softly.

"Alright, alright. I'll just ask him to tell me if he says anything about a girl!" Yuffie corrected. Seemed like a nice idea to me.

"Sure, but wouldn't that be a little suspicious?" I wondered.

"Leon thinks too much. In fact, he thinks so much that he doesn't care about those kinda things. He always assumes that I'm doing it for a friend."

"Oh, I see." I slumped back into my seat when the majority of our class went in. Some were from last period's Spanish class. I could feel their eyes watching me as the passed near.

English class went on without a word about anything that happened in the 3rd Period Spanish class. After Mrs. Strife handed out our homework and explained what it was about, she dismissed us for our 5th period class before lunch. I had P.E., the best subject to get you starved before lunch. That was a plus—especially since today's lunch menu was pizza. Contrary to most other schools, our school actually served food you could look forward to eating.

"See ya, Kai." Yuffie waved bye as she headed to her next period class, which was not P.E.—or else she would be walking with me, right?

I met up with Selphie and Dinah on the way to the gym building, during which Selphie complained about everything that happened in Math class while Dinah and I kept quiet. When we got to the girls' locker room, we changed into our gym (short) shorts and gym shirts with our school's symbol printed on the front. Then, we went into the gym and sat on the bleachers like our other classmates did while waiting for Ms. Gemm, our P.E. teacher.

"Don't worry," I reassured Dinah as I read the uncomfortable expression on her face, "you'll get used to the gym shorts. I don't know why they make guys wear long gym shorts while us girls get really short and skimpy ones."

"You don't like it?" Selphie swung her legs back and forth. "I think it's cute."

"Yeah, well, that's you, Selphie." I joked. The three of us laughed.

"Well, actually, I'm already getting a little used to it. I am so glad I have you guys to show me around!" Dinah smiled.

"Don't mention it!" Selphie replied. "We just wanna be your new friends!"

"Yeah!" I added, smiling as well.

"Thanks!" Dinah said. We saw more of our classmates come into the gym along with Ms. Gemm and her attendance notebook. She looked around the gym for each of her students to make sure they were all present. Ms. Gemm was not the one to do role call.

"Alright, alright!" She said loudly to catch everyone's attention, "Gather 'round!"

The students chitchatted a bit as we made a semi-circle around Ms. Gemm.

"Alright, everyone. Now Mr. Strife has to do some last-minute things, so he asked me to take over his 5th period class for him. And you know what that means…"

"What does it mean?" Dinah whispered to me.

"It means the two classes will do something together. Most of the time we play something class vs. class."

"I wonder of Sora Jacobs is part of his 5th period class?" Selphie teased quietly.

"Shut it, Selph!" I retorted. I did that, A, because I was embarrassed enough, and B, everything Selph was saying so far seemed to come true. And you know what, this one would probably come true as well.

"So, I'll go get the other class from the next gym." Ms. Gemm left the gym. In an instant all started chattering.

"I've got it!" Dinah snapped her fingers all of a sudden.

"What is it?" Selphie and I said at the same time.

"Maybe, the reason you never see Sora Jacobs in the hallways and things is because he's so popular people are all over him all the time!"

"Never thought of it that way." I thought for a while. It was possible that Dinah's explanation was true. In fact, it sounded the most reasonable.

"He probably has a lot of girls around him too, since all the school knows he doesn't have a girlfriend—_yet_." Selphie smirked at me.

* * *

**Translations:**

Pero Señora, no tengo novio. Tengo un 'crush'.. - But Señora, I don't have a boyfriend. I have a 'crush'..

¿Crush¿Qué es un 'crush', Kairi? - Crush? What is a 'crush', Kairi?

Ehh... es cuando te gusta un chico pero no sabes si un chico le gusta te. - Ehh.. it's when you like a boy but you don't know if he likes you.

Ah... yo comprendo. Okay chicos y chicas¡necesitamos trabajar! - Ah... I understand. Okay boys and girls, we need to work!

* * *

**Product Placement:**

Hey everyone! It's me again with product placement and all that stuffs... I'm just here to tell you guys to read** JackFan7**'s fics and as well as my good friend** chillywilly101**'s fic "_True_"._**  
**_


	7. The Nurse's Office

Kingdom Hearts x **Awkward Silence**

_.d r e a m I n g w i s t f U l l y._

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**A/N:**  
Uhh. Yeah. –gets tomatoes and various other degrading things thrown at her- Like always, I'm really sorry for not updating. But y'all have to understand I'm way busy nowadays, I got a big part in the school play, and I'm in 8th grade and teachers are giving us waaaay too much homework to supposedly "prepare us for high school". Stress. I wish you guys could see how stressed and tired I look.

**Disclaimer:**  
Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me. Neither does Halo. -.-

* * *

The gym grew quiet as Ms. Gemm came in with Mr. Strife's 5th period class. One by one, I scanned them, I tell you. I looked for Sora.

"Aww," Selphie whined, "he's not in this class, is he?"

"Guess not." I smiled, happy that he wasn't. "I am glad Mr. Jacobs isn't in this class."

"You guys are talking about Sora Jacobs?" one of the guys from the other class passed by us and asked. We nodded our heads.

"He went to bring some a female to the nurse's office."

"…huh?" I blinked. Why was this so hard to believe when Sora was one of the most popular guys in school?

"One of the girls from my class last period started complaining bout some throbbing headache and so Mr. Jacobs volunteered to bring her to the Nurse's office."

"Oh. Okay. Why are you telling this to us?" Selphie put her hands on her hips.

"Because I thought you needed my help? Say, would you like to have lunch with me today?"

"No." Selphie retorded. The boy, forever will he remain unidentified, went to his little group of seemingly nerdy friends and talked. Selphie rolled her eyes. "Some guys just hit on the first girl they see, don't they?"

Dinah laughed, while I, weird as it was, felt pain in my head. I observed it was in the same spot that the door had hit me earlier in the day. I started thinking about Sora again. If I he were here and I had started complaining about my headache, would he help me, or would he leave it to someone else?

"You okay, Kairi?" Ms. Gemm asked me. It was then I realized I had been in a trance and had not been responding to anything in my surroundings.

"Not really…" I sighed.

"You don't look well." Ms. Gemm started writing me a hall pass, "go to the Nurse's office. Your forehead looks a little red."

"Yeah, the door hit her earlier, so that might be it." Selphie added.

"Will you make it on your own, Kairi?" Ms. Gemm asked me. I nodded. I didn't feel like having Selphie around for the time being. I stood up, went into the locker room, changed back to my uniform and started walking to the Nurse's office.

"Shoot." I realized then that Sora might still be in there. "Oh well, I don't care. This headache is killing me so bad."

* * *

"Why, Ms. Valencia," Mrs. Babel looked up from her desk, "I don't see you around here often, what's wrong? You don't look too good."

"I have a terrible, terrible headache, Mrs. Babel. I don't know why." I put my hand on my forehead.

"Let's have a look. Why don't you sit down over there and I'll see what's wrong." She instructed, so I nodded my head and did what I was told to. She came to me and brushed my bangs up to see my forehead. "Dear, looks like you have a bruise here. Did you hit your head earlier? Oh my, looks like there's a tiny wound too."

"Huh, oh, what? Yeah…" I started feeling woozy. "I ran into the door earlier. Am I bleeding? Why?"

"Well Kairi," Mrs. Babel got iodine and a band-aid from a closet, "injuries to the head tend to bleed more easily since there's not a lot of muscle between the skin and bone, and the brain needs a lot of blood and oxygen, therefore there are also a lot of veins and arteries there."

"Oh. Right." I said, remembering Biology class from last year. She put iodine on my wound, and it stung a lot, and then she put band-aid.

"I'll let you have a rest until you feel better, sweetie." She told me, pointing to the next room, which had beds and such in them. I then remembered Sora and whoever that girl is, but again I put myself before them. I did not like this headache and if I run into Sora whatever, I want this headache out of me. I did not care.

Or did I?

I wandered into the next room, where the girl was lying down in a bed and Sora was lying down in the bed next to hers. How sweet, I thought. I walked silently to a bed farther away and hoped they wouldn't wake up.

"Hey, Kairi, what are you doing here?" Sora said quietly as I passed by his bed.

"My head hurts."

"That's funny," he chuckled, "my cousin Amy is having the same problem."

"Oh. That's lovely." I said without interest. "What are you doing here?"

"Ssshh," he hushed me quietly, " don't say this to anyone, but I'm pretending to be sick. I don't feel like P.E. today for some reason. I just wanna go home and play Halo."

"Halo, oh, that game." I nodded along, lying down on a bed that was two beds way from his.

"Hey, there's a band-aid on your head." Sora pointed out. No duh, I did. On Sunday, I thought him being so clueless was a bit cute, but today was just not my day. Too many things have been happening to me, I'm not appreciating it.

"Yeah, I got a little wound."

"Oh, sorry."

"No it's okay. I just need rest. I'm tired."

"Okay then. Sweet dreams." He said. I turned to my side so I wouldn't face him. That's when my reaction gear started kicking in. I blushed madly. _Sweet Dreams? What does that mean? Is he telling me to sleep well because he wants me to get better? Was he trying to make me laugh to get my attention? What does this all mean?_

If Selphie were here watching and knew what I was thinking right now, I knew she would be laughing so hard right now. I pulled the covers all the way up, completely engulfing me in precious warmth. The air conditioner was on and it was freezing.

"My parents are thinking of—oh, sorry." Sora brought up, but stopped once he noticed me 'asleep'. He couldn't tell, of course, since I had my back towards him and the covers were hiding me.

"No," I pulled the covers down, "go ahead. I'm having trouble sleeping."

"Oh. Well," Sora seemed to have a more difficult time now that he actually knew I was listening, "my parents were thinking that… uhh, they want to invite your parents over to our house for dinner on Saturday…"

"Have they asked my parents?" I asked.

"Don't think so. They were talking about it during dinner last night though.

"Oh. I see." I sighed.

"I'm really sorry about earlier," I could sense a sincere apology in his tone of voice, "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, really. I'm just… stressed out, that's all."

"On a Monday?" he chuckled, "The week's just started and you're already tired?"

"Uhh, well," I stammered, "lots of things have come up, so…"

"You mean like Spanish class?" He laughed more. I shot up in a jolt and looked at him with eyes as wide as a light bulb.

"H-how did you know!" I demanded.

"Heh, well, I heard a couple of people talking about you."

"So there's someone you have a crush on?" Sora smirked.

"If you know that much," I sighed a sigh of defeat, "I might as well admit."


	8. Prologue to the Dance

Kingdom Hearts **x Awkward Silence**  
/By Aemi Takahashi

**I lose my way**

**Author's Note**  
Hey guess what! I'm trying out for the musical! Yep, that's right! It means if I get in I probably wont' be able to update again. Haha, so screw me then. Well anyways, I don't have a lot of confidence in me getting a part this time but I'm still hoping. :3 If I don't get it, I'll probably become Stage Manager or something. Oh, and I'm experimenting with using song lyrics instead of usual dividers… this chapter's song is "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson. The songs are usually related to the events in the chapters.

**Disclaimer**  
Kingdom Hearts © Square-enix & Disney  
OC's, plot © Aemi Takahashi

**I cannot cry **

Awkward Silence  
chapter eight

"**S**o who is it?" Sora still had that smirk on his face.

"Are you kidding me? I'd never tell in a million years!"

"What? But you said you'd admit."

"Heh." I smirked right back at him, "I didn't say I would admit _who_, I just said I would admit that I _do_ have a crush on someone."

"Dang." Sora laughed but it faded out quickly as he looked away—was he **disappointed**?

We lay down in her beds in complete silence.

"Umm," he decided to bring up, "are you going to the dance this Friday?"

"I guess," I replied—I wasn't a big fan of dances. I've heard a lot of stories. Dances equal girls getting subtly molested. At least that's what Selphie claims. And it's not that I don't really want to go to dances, it's more of my parents won't let me. Well actually, they told me I could start going once I get into 8th grade… and I _am_ in 8th grade. "Not too sure."

"Aww, why not?" He asked me.

"I dunno, don't feel like it." I didn't have a big ego when it came to guys. I was convinced that if I were anything impressive to guys that I would probably have a boyfriend right now. Or at least have had my first kiss—but it hasn't happened, "No one would dance with me anyway—"

"**I would."** Sora interrupted. I raised my eyebrows and my eyes went wide—and I mean wide. "I mean, uhh, you know… if no one else will, I can… you know."

I couldn't help but giggle at his loss of words. "Okay. Agreed. It goes both ways okay, if you don't find anyone to dance with I will. Though I doubt it."

"Why do you doubt it?"

"Oh please, Mr. star of the basketball team." I chuckled, "You're followed around by a flock of fangirls everyday!"

"Really?" He scratched his head, "I haven't noticed…" I laughed again.

**I'm forced to fake a smile  
**

**I**t was lunchtime. I stayed in the Nurse's office until it was lunchtime because I didn't feel like walking all the way back to P.E. Sora did the same, but his cousin went ahead and went back. After our conversation about the dance, we didn't talk… and I fell asleep.

"I'm going to lunch now." I said to Sora while I sat up from my position. I turned to face his bed and noticed he had fallen asleep as well. I blushed a little and giggled at the soft sound of his snoring. I decided to leave without him—though I did wonder how much scandal it would build up if I had arrived at the cafeteria with him. I would have to face supreme tacklage from the Sora fan club. Haha.

"Are you feeling better now?" Mrs. Babel turned in her office chair when she noticed I was making my way out.

"Yeah, I'm feeling so much better after that nap. Thanks, Mrs. Babel."

"I'm glad, now don't forget to eat something good or else you'll feel even worse." She tole me, and I nodded in agreement before heading out.

"Kai!" Selphie waved at me from her spot in the extremely long lunch line. I waved back and came up to her. Dinah was there too and smiled.

"Are you okay now?" Dinah asked me.

"Yeah, thanks for asking."

"How was it?" Selphie said with a sheepish smile on her face.

"How was _what?"_

"Your encounter with Sora. The nurse called Ms. Gemm and told her he was still there. You must tell me what happened."

"Nothing did. He asked me if I was going to the dance this Friday."

"Are you?"

"I don't know."

"Well if he asked you then you better come with me! Are you in, Dinah?"

"Umm," she looked uncertain, "will people outside our school be able to come?"

"Sure!" Selphie chuckled, "Dinah's bringin' her bf!"

Dinah blushed and laughed nervously.

"Fine, fine, I'll go." I said. I sighed and looked at Selphie—who suddenly looked flabbergasted. Someone tapped on my shoulder and I turned around.

"Hey, you ditched me!" Sora joked.

"Sora?" I laughed, "I did not ditch you. You were still sleeping so I left you alone."

"Same difference." He shoved his hands in his pockets and whistled. "Well, I'll see you around then Kairi." He went off with his friend Riku.

"What was _that?_" someone behind me said. I turned around and recognized her instantly—she was in the flock that kept on stalking Sora. "Why was Sora-poo talking to someone like Kairi Valencia?"

"Because he wanted to." Selphie snapped her fingers thrice at the girl and put her hands on her hips in an intimidating way.

"_Your mom_ wanted to." She snapped back. Selphie, Dinah and I raised our eyebrows. She could _not_ pull off the whole "your mom" ordeal.

**my heart can't possibly break  
**

**T**he week went by pretty fast. Dinah had adjusted to the school fast enough, and she told us her boyfriend, Sean, wasn't coming to the dance with her. She was sad a little, but we told her it was okay. We wanted to meet him, though. She told us she was having a harder time trying to keep in touch with him. He kept telling her he was always busy.

As for Sora, we began talking a little more. It was more of a, "Hi"-"Hey, what's up?"-"Nothing much."-"Cool." thing, but hey, at least we talked, not like those weirdos who stalk him and never talk to him. They're actually fun to watch.

During the course of the week, we had all gone to each other's houses (Dinah's being the favorite—since it was ungodly huge!), and into each other's closets, and decided what we were all wearing for the dance.

It was Thursday and we thought nothing bad could happen.

"My back hurts so bad!" Selphie stretched out and sat down on the floor with me by our lockers. "I was like, bent over all last night studying for our Social Studies test. And I'm still going to fail it."

"See, that's why procrastinating is bad." I told her while looking over my notes in my notebook.

"And who's the one who's studying right now?"

"I didn't say that I wasn't a procrastinator."

"But… fine, whatever." Selphie rolled her eyes. We heard a thump beside me and a loud noise like someone just hit the lockers. We both turned our heads to the left. Dinah had landed a spot on the floor right beside me—but we couldn't believe it was Dinah. Her hair was messy, her eyes were all poofy like she had been crying all night…

…wait.

"What happened?" I asked her. She turned to face me and started crying. Selphie stood up and transferred so that Dinah would be in the middle of the both of us, and she embraced Dinah.

"Sean… he… br… broke up… with… m-me…" she said in between sobs. I hugged her as well.

"Let me guess, he found it hard to bridge the communication gap the two of you had because you were studying in different schools?" Selphie said.

Dinah nodded. Selphie and I rolled our eyes.

"Guys are idiots like that. Don't worry." I said. "They have the craziest reasons to break up with someone… well, sometimes they're decent, but at our age they're all stupid…"

"Th…thanks…" she hugged us both. "Sean was a stupid boy anyway."

"That's the spirit, girl!" Selphie laughed.

"I mean, come on, he can't even pass a test unless I tutor him. And he can't get a good average unless he copies like… all my homework."

"Screw him then!" I raised my first up in the air. We all laughed and Dinah felt better, at least that's what she told us. She wiped away the tears.

"So, are we still on for tomorrow night's dance?" Selphie asked.

"Heck, yeah!" Dinah laughed some more.

**  
if it wasn't even whole to start with.  
**

**Author's Note**  
I'm sorry for the suckiness of the entire chapter… at least I updated, right? Hehe. Don't kill me. I promise the next chapter will have juicier scenes. Hell, it's the **dance** scene, why wouldn't it be hot? Whoo.


	9. The Dance

**Awkward Silence**  
_/by Masigla_

**i only fear love when it's in my dreams  
**

**Author's Note**  
Oh, man. u----u. I'm sorry for the long gap in updates, again. I've been busy with other stuff… and other fics. XD Haha. I'll take this opportunity to plug my Christmas fic, **Sweet Christmas**, and my Rent KH-style fic, **Seasons of Love**, and my newest high-school fic thing, **The Art of Love**. Man, I'm getting busy. XD –shameless plugger-

And sorry for the suckiness of this chapter… I was really trying my hardest to finish this. I made the first parts way back when, and never got around to finishing it until now.

**Disclaimer**  
Kingdom Hearts © Square-enix & Disney  
Simple & Clean © Toshiba-Emi Limited  
OC's, plot © Masigla/Anna

**so that in the morning light  
**

**I**t was the night. It was the night of the dance. We had all been hanging out at Dinah's house since school ended—watching Friday afternoon sitcoms on Dinah's plasma TV, running around the house chasing her puppy she called Pancake, eating mint chocolate chip ice cream, and eventually we each took a shower so we would be fresh at the dance (plus we kind of reeked from playing with Pancake a lot) and we did each other's hair and a little bit of makeup. We didn't to anything over the top, just a little eyeliner, mascara, lip-gloss, foundation—that kind of stuff. Dinah's hair was in a ponytail then held up by a clip, Selphie's hair was… the same, and mine was put up in a messy bun (but it still looked good).

As for our outfits, Dinah wore a cute blue tee shirt, which fit her _really_ nicely, and a white miniskirt, and white flip-flops. Selphie wore a green skirt, an orange tee shirt and a green cami over the tee shirt, and white tennis shoes. As for myself, I wore a rosy pink cami under a white hooded cardigan with short sleeves, and a blue, white and lavender plaid miniskirt. Least I could say, I had enough confidence to say that we all looked _pretty_ good.

And as if looking good weren't a treat enough, Dinah's mom agreed to taking us to the dance in their Hummer—a _treat_ indeed. It was shaping up to be one of the happiest days of my life. We hopped into the car, where Dinah's mom was already waiting, and drove off.

"I wonder how _Sora_'s going to look like…" Selphie's mouth curved into a sheepish grin as she elbowed my stomach.

"Ow—" I said, "I don't know, Selphie. Would you _please_ stop talking about Sora? He's probably going to end up dancing with some preppy girl."

"We never know, Kairi." Dinah said reassuringly, "Maybe he's been single up to this point because he's been looking for someone who _isn't_ preppy—"

"Like _Kairi_." Selphie interrupted.

"Oh, shut up." I blushed.

"Girls, we're almost there," Dinah's mom stated, "do you have everything? Money? Cell phones?"

"Yes, mom." Dinah said. "Don't worry, mom."

"I know, I know." her mom smiled. "Well, here we are!" She said, pulling up to the gym. Obviously, the presence of a Hummer caused a little stir, but it wasn't like we were mobbed or anything. People just stared, but it made me feel… I dunno, exactly.

We went into the lobby-area of the gym first, to register our names and pay the entrance fee. Once we got in, it became more humid due to the sheer amount of people in the gym dancing in one clump of wild teenagers, and the presence of the colorful lights.

"Kairi, Selphie, Dinah, over here!" Yuffie called out to us as she waved her hand high up in the air enough for us to see. Once we pushed and lightly shoved our way through the thick crowd, we found her, with Leon's arms wrapped her waist and her hands on his arms. They swayed in perfect motion, I was almost envious.

"Oh!" Dinah shrieked softly. Selphie went off at that moment, saying something about some hot guy and stalking… I turned my attention to Dinah, who looked worried.

"What happened?" I asked her. A guy who was standing suspiciously behind her hurriedly walked off in another direction.

"Someone touched me…" she said under her breath. Tch. Perverts—there are some at every dance.

"Take it as a compliment, Dinah—trust me."

"And now—a request from an _anonymous_—_Simple and Clean_ by Utada Hikaru—dedicated to 'Sora, my love'." the DJ announced. Immediately, laughs could be heard. I could just imagine Sora looking down in embarrassment. Oh, the attention you get for being so good looking.

The song started playing. It was slow—obviously suggesting a _slow_ dance. Dinah and I looked around for signs of Selphie, but she had probably stalked whoever was hot and was now dancing with them. I took Dinah's wrist in my hand and suggested we go to the lobby for some soda—seeing as we probably wouldn't get anyone to dance with at the moment. She agreed, and we left in a huff and ordered two glasses of orange sodas. A couple of other people were there as well; it made me feel _rejected_ to be there in the first place. _Simple and Clean_ was considered _the_ love song.

Once some more upbeat music had started playing, Dinah and I decided to go back into the dance floor, seeing as the slow song was over.

"Kairi, wait up!" someone called out from behind. Who else would it be but Sora—the one that, subconsciously, I wished asked me to dance with him. Dinah gave me a small wave and left, leaving me alone with him. "Where were you?"

"Umm, here, obviously." I said, looking away. "How was the slow dance?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I wasn't dancing."

"_What_?" I laughed, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Huh?"

"For one, it would signal the end of the world if no one was dancing with you. Come on, tell the truth."

"I am!" he said defending, "I wasn't…"

"And why not?"

"Because…" He looked away for a moment and then looked back at me straight in the eye, "I was looking for you."

I felt my heart skip a beat, "But you had a lot of people to dance with."

"Not really…" He said, scratching the back of his head. It was then I took in what he was wearing—a navy blue polar fleece and tan cargo pants. He looked _gooood_. "I mean, I guess those fangirls you were talking about found other people to dance with just so they wouldn't look like dopes, but when I passed by them and they saw I wasn't dancing with anyone, they got pissed and went, 'NO!' ".

"Hahahaha. So now you're saying I'm a dope because I didn't dance with anyone?" I laughed again. He smiled.

"I guess, yeah."

I playfully whacked his head, "You don't say that!"

"Well yeah but technically I'm saying that _I'm_ a dope too—" he said but got pushed aside a bit when a girl stormed in and went right smack between the two of us.

"I can't believe it, damnit!" the girl said, banging her fist on the table. "He danced with her!"

"Man, Sora!" Tidus came in laughing, "You missed it!"

"Missed _what_?" Sora asked.

"Riku saw this girl who just walked in and danced with her, and all his fans were like 'NOOOOO!', in the Star Wars way, ya know? I think he's still dancing with her."

Sora broke into laughter, I couldn't help but chuckle _at_ his funny expression, but it had looked more like I was laughing _with_ him.

"Kairi, Kairi!" Selphie came in, waving to me frantically. I stopped laughing (though Sora was on the verge of falling on the floor and rolling) and turned to my friend.

"What's wrong?"

"You have to come with me, quick!" She took my wrist and pulled me out of the room. As I was exiting, I heard Sora call my name—but I didn't look back.

"It's Dinah," she shouted at me, as we entered the dance floor and the music was on really loud.

"What happened to Dinah? Did someone touch her again?" I looked around for signs of our raven-haired friend.

"No," Selphie shook her head, "wait—someone touched her?"

"Yeah, earlier," I said, still looking around, "when you went off."

"Oh. Well anyways—She's dancing!"

"Yeah, no surprise, this is a dance." I said. Then I realized how hypocritical I sounded. _Duh, it's a dance—everyone dances at a dance!_ And yet there I was, _not_ dancing.

"…with _Riku_."

My head instantly jerked towards Selphie, my eyes wide in shock, "Seriously? She's dancing with _Riku_?"

"Yeah! I came up, and I was talking to her, and then he comes up and just… takes her away! I don't know where she is," Selphie explained.

"Jeez," I looked around again, "I hope they're _just_ dancing."

Selphie and I started pushing through the crowd, in hopes of finding our friend. We were both getting severely worried—if they weren't on the dance floor, where would they be? I knew Dinah wasn't the type to immediately start making out with someone after 10 minutes of knowing them, but I didn't know if Riku was either. Though if he was Sora's best friend, I doubt he'd be bad. We spent almost an hour looking for her on the dance floor and not dancing before we decided to see if she was in the lobby-area.

"Dinah!" Selphie cried out. I craned my head to the direction where Selphie was running, and there was Dinah.

"Guys! I thought I'd lost you," she said, hugging Selphie.

"We were out there looking for you forever," I said, relieved she didn't seem upset or anything, "did anything happen?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Dinah tilted her head in question, "Oh, you mean with Riku? Nothing. We just danced, and I told him I needed to find you guys and left."

"Nothing happened?"

"Nothing," Dinah raised an eyebrow, "what? Do you guys think he molested me or something?"

"Err," Selphie sputtered, "kinda… yeah. I mean, this is Riku we're talking about."

"Is he some kind of player, then?" Dinah said, "Because… he didn't seem that way."

"He might be using his charm to get you, Dinah."

"Come on, Selph." I intervened, "I'm sure Riku's… okay. I mean, he _does_ hang with Sora lot, which means he can't be that bad."

"So basically hanging with _Sora_ makes him good?" Selphie grinned.

"Well I dunno," I shrugged, "does Sora seem like he would hang with guys like that?"

"We don't really know much about them." Dinah said.

"…was it fun?" I blurted out. "Dancing, I mean. With a guy."

I hated to admit it, but I was jealous of Dinah. No one came up to me yet. It made me feel depressed, rejected, unwanted.

"I don't know, exactly." Dinah blinked, "It was just… you know, dancing. It didn't really help that I was receiving glares from half the people on the dance floor, but I guess it was fun. I was too busy thinking about finding you guys, though."

"Aww, you should've enjoyed yourself and let _us_ find you." Selphie joked. Suddenly, the upbeat sound from the main gym ceased and a more mellow tone filled the air—another slow dance I had to spend unwillingly wasting my time in the lobby area, getting drunk on soda.

"Oh great, another slow dance." I sighed in defeat. I debated with myself whether or not I should go back to the dance floor. Going back there, I might humiliate myself by standing there, being the only one who didn't have someone to dance with. Staying here was equally as humiliating, because it _did_ mean I didn't have someone to dance with, but at least I wasn't alone.

"_I mean, uhh, you know… if no one else will, I can… you know."_

"_Okay. Agreed. It goes both ways okay, if you don't find anyone to dance with I will. Though I doubt it."_

Doubt was an understatement. It was like I _knew_ that he was dancing with someone.

"I'm gonna go find someone to dance with." Selphie said, waving goodbye to us in an instant and heading back to the dance floor. I kind of admired her for going there without thinking about what I did.

"Aren't you going in, Dinah? I mean, you have Riku. I'll wait for you guys."

"Ha, I have Riku? That's weird. He asked me to dance with him _once_, Kairi."

"But at least you know you could go back and dance with him."

She thought about it for a while, I could see it in her eyes. "But I won't."

"Why not?"

"Because then you'd be alone here."

"You don't have to, Dinah…"

"Oh well, I will."

It was the strangest feeling. I was sitting there, in the lobby area with Dinah, completely silent. There were a couple of other people there, as well. Had I really sunk so low? I felt this… annoying pain in my chest, like where my heart was. There was a feeling of yearning, of loneliness… of want.

I wanted him to dance with me.

But was I really expecting him to? Of course, I could be considered as being in a higher rank than most of those fangirls, seeing as I actually _talk _to him, but then there are still those drop-dead gorgeous girls who are way up there than I am. Dinah should be one of them, but somehow she managed to stay down here with the normal people-- with me, and Selphie…. and a few other people.

As the song faded out, the crowd roared as the DJ said thanks and goodbye—officially ending the dance.

Officially ending what I thought was going to be a whirlwind adventure that would bring me magic and I don't know… romance.

Selphie came back to the lobby, smiling like there was no tomorrow. I guessed right away she found someone to dance with. Dina, on the other hand, _would_ have someone to dance with, only she didn't. While I… was an entirely different story. As we gathered all our belongings and waited for Dinah's mom to come pick us up (we were sleeping over at her house that night), I pondered on a thought that lingered in my head ever since the second slow dance started:

Did Sora find someone else to dance with?

As Dinah's mom pulled up in the driveway (she didn't take the Hummer this time), Dinah hopped in first, followed by Selphie, then by me. I had insisted on getting a window seat so I could look out as we drove home. I sat down, setting my purse down beside me, then looked out the window at the still-thick crowd of pubescent teenagers.

I saw him. I saw Sora. Our eyes met for a split second, but as Dinah's mom drove away, I could see the him disappearing into the distance.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. I bent over in severe pain. Oh God, my period.

My mind was screaming out in pain. I felt like jumping out of the car—maybe getting run over hurt less than the pain I was experiencing that instant.

"Kairi, are you okay?" Dinah asked.

"Cramps?" Selphie added. I replied with a nod of my head.

"Oh." Dinah sat back.

"I have medicine for that, dear." Dinah's mom told me as she drove through the empty streets of late-night Destiny Islands. "I'll let you take it when we get home. It'll help."

"Th-thanks…" I muttered under my breath. The pain stopped momentarily, or rather, it subsided. It didn't completely go away, but now I felt sane, but not at the same time—because as I sat there, in complete and utter pain, I thought of something.

_I wish Sora were here, to make the pain go away_.

I wondered, if he _were_ there with me then, what would he do?

**let the darkness fade away**


	10. Awk ward

**Masigla says, **hey guys! What's happenin'? Haha. I am so happy right now, I can't believe it! No, I didn't get asked out or anything (I wish…), but trimestral exams are finally over, all the papers and projects I had to turn in are… turned in, I didn't sign up for any extracurricular things for spring meaning…… more time for fanfics! Hahaha. Anyways, I won't keep you waiting any longer.

* * *

**Awkward Silence**  
Masigla 

_Chapter Ten_

The next morning was pretty much a blur. I hate to admit it, but I felt real depressed. I remember getting up, eating breakfast with Selphie, Dinah and her parents, watching a movie, taking a shower and watching TV while I waited for Selphie to finish hers so we could go home.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" Dinah asked me while she brushed her dark, silky hair. I really envied her and her god-given beauty. Sometimes I think she could just walk past any guy and he'd crash into a pole.

I sighed as I gave her my reply. "I guess… I don't know. I'm just out of it."

"Disappointed?"

"Hmm?"

"Well," she put her brush down and sat on the table, "you seemed like you were real disappointed Sora didn't dance with you last night."

"Yeah." There was no use denying the truth when they knew it was head-on right, "But generally, I guess I'm just disappointed _no one_ came to dance with me."

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked. I shrugged. "Do you think you're pretty?"

I turned my head towards her and raised an eyebrow, "No, not really. I mean you… you're just drop-dead gorgeous—I'm not."

"Well pretend I'm ugly." She got off the table, "Now what do you think?"

"It'd hard to imagine you being ugly."

Dinah sighed. Trudging towards me, she had a somewhat dedicated look on her face. She took me by the arm and began to drag me to her full-length mirror.

"Close your eyes," she told me. I did. She stopped and I felt her pushing me gently towards the mirror. "Now open them."

I opened my eyes and I saw myself. "…I see myself."

"Of course you do. But, what do you think of yourself?"

"My eyes are a weird shade of blue… they're like, almost purple."

"And..?"

"My eyelashes are long… and thick."

"See?"

"See what?"

"Your eyes," she smiled, "they're captivating. Even you get captivated by them."

"What do you mean?" I really had no idea where she was getting to. I looked at her, and the bright expression on her face.

"You're not as bad as you think you are. If you only close your eyes, clear your mind and open them again, you'll see how you really are. You're blinded by your comparisons and your lack of self-confidence."

Looking back at the mirror, I closed my eyes again and did what Dinah told me to. I expelled myself of how she looked, how I thought of myself, and all negative feelings.

I opened my eyes.

My eyes stared into each other. Dinah was right—they really were captivating. I took some time to look at the rest of me. My hair, my skin, my hands.

For the first time since I started actually caring about my appearance,

I felt good. I felt good about myself. I don't know exactly what it was that Dinah did—if it was magic or not, but I don't know why I've never even seen myself like I did right then. Before, looking at the mirror, my first thought was that I wasn't as pretty as say, someone I saw on the cover of a magazine. For the first time, I didn't think that. Instead, I saw myself—pretty in my own way.

"So, what do you think now?"

"I look good!" I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Great to know that, Kairi." She laughed softly, "And let me tell you one more thing,"

"What is it?"

"Guys can be afraid, too."

I responded with a puzzled look on my face.

"Sometimes, when a girl like you comes along, someone pretty like you, yet with spunk, they're afraid. They're afraid they're not good enough for you. They're attracted to that spunk you have, Kairi, but at the same time they're afraid of it. Even though you have your moments when you really feel like you're not pretty, they're gone now, aren't they? You can hold your head up high and say, 'hey, if you don't' think you're good enough for me, screw you!' "

I was taken aback a little. Who was this Dinah, speaking of spunk like she didn't have any herself?

"And you may think I'm one of those girls who've dated a million guys, but Sean was really the first. I liked him because he was the first one to come up to me with _confidence_. But I found that his weakness was that he couldn't handle long-distance." She laughed briefly, "So yes… People are afraid of me too."

"What are you guys talking about?" Selphie came in from the bathroom right at that moment, fully dressed and ready to go and ending the little pep talk I had with Dinah.

"Nothing, Selph." I laughed, "Shall we go—"

My phone completely startled me as it started vibrating in my jeans' pocket, emitting the sound of my ringtone. I jolted up a little from the surprise, then quickly realized it was just my phone and took it out. My mom was calling me.

"Hello?"

"Kairi! Where are you right now?"

"I'm still at Dinah's… we're about to go, though."

"Okay, good! Get back as soon as you can, okay?"

"Are we in a hurry?"

"Well, we forgot to tell you that we accepted Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs' invitation for dinner tonight! So you have to get here so you can start preparing! It's not a formal dinner, but we don't want you to look too sloppy or anything, okay?"

I nearly dropped my phone.

"S…sure… I'll be there right away, mom…….." my thumb slowly made its way to the end call button, cutting of my mom's last words from the call.

That was when I dropped my phone. Fortunately for me, Dinah was rich and her carpeted floors were heavily padded, causing the phone to nearly bounce off the floor.

"What happened?" Selphie picked up the phone from the ground, took my hands and put the phone into them as I stood there, frozen in a state of shock.

"That's right…" I softly said, "The nurse's office, he told me…"

"Hmm? What's that?" Dinah leaned over to try and hear what I was saying. I snapped out of my brief trance and stared at my two friends with eyes wide as they could ever be.

"I'm having dinner with Sora's family tonight."

I swear, if they had phones in their hands when I told them that, they would drop theirs too.

"Are you serious?" Selphie asked, and I replied with a nod. Dinah stayed silent. "Eww. That's not cool!"

"It's going to be so awkward," I sighed, "even more than before because of the dance last night…"

"You'll be fine, Kairi." Dinah tried to reassure me, "Just don't let it be obvious that you're too depressed about it."

"I'll try."

"….so what're we waiting for?" Selphie asked impatiently. "We need to get you home right away so I can pick a totally cute outfit for you!"

I blushed, the thought of Sora seeing me in something cute had crossing my mind.

"I can't come, though." Dinah said, "Mom wants me to stay home and help her out with things."

"That's okay, Dinah." Selphie patted the black-haired girl on the back, "Kairi's going to keep us _updated_."

"Updated?"

Selphie pointed to the cellphone I had in my hands. "Oh. Right. If I can get away to text you guys."

"I'm pretty sure you will."

"Hopefully." Selphie ran to Dinah's couch, where our bags were piled. She slung her backpack and duffel bag over her shoulders and ran back. "Let's go, already!"

"Okay, okay," I rolled my eyes as I sauntered towards my things, "keep your dress on."

"I have no intention of taking it off, thank you very much." She retorted.

With a heavy load on my shoulders, Dinah led Selphie and I out of her house. Her house was strangely within walking distance from my house and Selphie's, which was strange considering you'd think a mansion would be farther out. Now that I put things into perspective though, her house wasn't all that grand. It was just bigger than average. Maybe I was just exaggerating it because I'd always wanted to live in a house like that.

"_Okay_, so we totally have to go shopping tomorrow for more cute clothes!"

"…why?"

"Because… you just need to." Selphie eyed the outfit I was currently wearing, "The shirts you have… seriously, Kairi, they're like, twice your actual size. You need something more form-fitting. Trust me, people know that under those baggy clothes, you actually have a nice body."

"Sure, thanks to the swimming unit in P.E. …" I hung my head low, recalling the stares I got from people when I first came out in the school swimsuit. It was awkward. _Extremely_. Thank God I didn't even know Sora went to my school then!

"So we're going shopping tomorrow?"

"I guess."

"SCORE!" Selphie squeaked.

We arrived at my house with our shoulders on the verge of becoming dislocated. My mom welcomed us in and asked Selphie until when she was going to be there, to which Selphie answered, "Not very long."

She ran up the stairs and into my room, I myself lagging slowly behind her. Did she _have_ to be so hyper? By the time I got to my room, she was in my closet, looking through my wardrobe. I sat on the edge of my bed, watching the brunette wander in my closet and listening to her comments.

"Too big, too old-looking, hmm… maybe… nah, eww, no! Too faded, seen it too many times, not cute enough…" and it went on.

Finally, she came out with a verdict.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you and your comments about my clothes?"

"Oh well. It wasn't that bad.. just not my style. We need to do serious shopping tomorrow, Kairi. But at least I found something for you to wear tonight."

"Which is…?"

She ran back in and came out with an article of clothing on a hanger. I swear I didn't even remember obtaining that… that dress. It was pretty, actually. I probably got it from an aunt and never bothered to wear it. It was a soft shade of pink, with thin straps and a not too revealing neckline. It was simple, but cute, alright. It was like a little black dress type dress… except it was pink.

"And so you don't look like you're dressing up extra special just for this…" She laid the dress down on the bed beside me and went back into the closet and pulled out a white hoodie. She then instructed me on wearing it, but only zipping the zipper an inch up and leaving the rest of it open, which actually looked stylish. As for shoes, she picked out, thankfully not some sort of godforsaken high-heeled sandal, but my favorite pair of converse shoes, which were purple.

"What about my hair?"

"Hmm well," Selphie thought about it for a while, "You should wear it down like you always do."

"Okay then."

"Why don'tcha try it on? I wanna see my masterpiece!" She squealed again. I nodded my head and went into my closet to change. Before coming out, I did what Dinah told me to do back at her house. I closed my eyes and told myself that I was pretty. I came out, strutting over to my mirror.

SHOCK.

"Oh my GOD!" I couldn't help but squeal like Selphie. She squealed along with me.

"You look so CUTE!" She jumped up.

"I KNOW!" We laughed. Selphie then told me not to wear any makeup or else that would be making it too obvious that I was trying to look good just for him, plus she said my eyes were too pretty to put mascara or eyeliner on, which I completely agreed to. I hated applying mascara. Mostly because I poked my eye with a mascara brush once when I tried to do it myself, and I stayed away from it every since.

When Selphie left, there was about half an hour before we had to leave to go to Sora's house. I tried to soothe my nervous self by listening to music, but to no avail. I tried watching but it didn't help, either. Before I even got a chance to try calling Selphie or Dinah to tell them of my nervousness, we had to leave. I nearly fainted when my mom yelled out, "Let's go!" up the stairs.

"Ooh, Kairi! You look adorable!" My mom hugged me and pinched my cheeks as I rolled my eyes internally, since I'd probably get in trouble for actually doing it.

We hopped into our car and drove towards his house. By then I could do nothing but text message my two friends, since if I had been talking to them my parents would find out I secretly had a crush on Sora. Selphie had to do something in the middle of our conversation, so I stuck to talking with Dinah.

"Remember Kairi, your eyes!"  
"I know, I know!"  
"How near are you to his place?"

"Hey mom, are we there yet?"

"Almost, Kairi."

"She says we're almost there."  
"Oh my gosh! Don't pass out!"  
"I'm trying hard not to!"  
"You'll make it Kairi! Keep me and Selphie updated, kay?"  
"Of course! I wonder what he thinks of my outfit!"  
"Selphie told me what it looked like! It sounds really cute!"  
"Haha thanks, I wish you could see me and my confidence right now!"  
"Hahaha, that's great!"

But before I could add or reply to her last message, we had pulled up at their driveway. I nearly dropped my phone again, though I decided not to, because my parents would probably freak if I did. Plus car floors aren't as… bouncy.

We walked towards the door. Breathing proved to be difficult, it seemed. I almost felt as if I could just fall over and not get up and just stay there. When we stood at the porch, my mom told me to ring the doorbell, so I did. From inside I could hear someone's hasty footsteps, then a loud thunk.

"Ah darnit!" I heard from inside. Judging from the voice, I recognized—

The door opened.

Sora was the one behind it. He was wearing a black sweatshirt and beige cargo pants.

"Hello, Sora!" My mom cheerfully greeted as he let us in. My dad greeted him with a "what's up?", to which Sora replied with a "nothing much." I gave him a small wave and he returned it.

It was awkward.

His parents rushed in and greeted us, then his mom told me that I could hang out with Sora and "him" in the living room.

I didn't know who "he" was. I found out soon later.

In the living room, on the couch playing on the PS2 sat a blonde. He had hair spiky like Sora's and eyes I could've sworn were almost identical to Sora's as well.

"Oh yeah," Sora scratched the back of his head, "that's my cousin, Roxas. He's staying over for the weekend. Oy, Roxas, meet my friend Kairi."

"Hey." The blonde said, his eyes still glued to the TV. I couldn't help but laugh a little. Sora went ahead and sat down at the couch and I found myself sitting beside either his apparently video-game immersed cousin Roxas or Sora himself.

I chose to sit beside Roxas. I just felt too awkward sitting with Sora that I'd rather sit with someone who was practically a stranger to me. The two battled it out on a first person shooting game, as I sat back and watched them. My phone suddenly started vibrating in the pocket of my sweatshirt and I took it out.

"Hey, I'm back! Are you there yet?""Yeah, Selph… it's really weird."  
"Really? Howwww?"  
"His cousin Roxas is here, and he's like a carbon copy of Sora… except blonde."  
"Haha wow, that's amazing, I wanna meet him now. Is he going to our school?"  
"No, he's like staying here for the weekend or something."  
"Aww darn oh well. Hey guess what?"  
"What?"  
"I saw Riku outside his house today ahaha."  
"And…?"  
"He was talking to Tidus!"  
"Wait, since when were you into Tidus?"  
"Since when he danced with me at the dance!"  
"He danced with you at the dance?"  
"Oh yes he did! Anyways what's going on there?"  
"They're playing video games…"  
"…ew… what's wrong with them… they're not talking to you?"  
"Apparently not."  
"ewww…."  
"Haha, I know."

As I waited for Selphie's reply, Roxas got up without a word and left. I presumed he went to the bathroom. That left just me and Sora on the couch.

"….so….." he started. "…had fun at the dance last night?"

"Not really." I replied.

"Same here."

"Did you dance with anyone?"

"Actually, no…"

"Neither did I… just with my friends."

"Freakdancing is really weird." Sora said silently.

"Why do you do it then?"

He refused to answer.

"Listen, during the slow dance, where were you? I wa—" Sora was cut off when Roxas reentered the room and sat in between us.

"You guys wanna watch anything on TV?" he asked us.

"Whatever." Sora sighed.

"I don't really care." I added.

"Okay then." Roxas started flipping the channels, leaving me hanging on an edge.

What did Sora want to say to me?


End file.
